


Not your cup of tea

by Meero94



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Bookstore AU, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-07-16
Packaged: 2018-02-09 04:25:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1968990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meero94/pseuds/Meero94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Books, Oliver Queen had long ago decided, were the best thing mankind ever did. Not only were they the ultimate form of storytelling and entertainment, but they were also the reason Oliver's life changed forever. Books were the reason he met Felicity Smoak. But that's just me getting way ahead of the story.</p>
<p>It goes something like this: boy meets girl at a bookstore (well out of, if we're being technical), boy tries to woo girl at said bookstore and boy ends up being the girl's best friend. Things get a bit complicated from there on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not your cup of tea

**A/N** : **This fic is what happens when book geeks become part of a TV show fandoms. It was written as a birthday present to my awesome friend Sara, who also gave me the prompt herself. Happy (late) birthday dearie!**

**I don't own anything or anyone but I hope some day to own a bookstore.. dream big, kids.**

**P.S: The title shall be explained later.**

**Enjoy reading!**

* * *

 

It wasn't unlike him to think back to that day. Actually, he revisited that fateful day's events more times than he'd ever care to admit. It wasn't that fireworks had gone off or the sky opened up or any of that movie crap; it was just that the moment he laid eyes on her, something had shifted inside of him. It might sound ridiculous –maybe as ridiculous as the movie clichés Tommy often made fun of- but that shift did happen. Oliver saw blue eyes and a blinding smile and his stomach dropped –something that had never happened before that day and therefore left him puzzled and very much confused. Which is why he returned to the place a few days later. And then a couple days after that. And, well, you get the picture.

It was an ordinary day as far as Oliver was concerned. It started out with his mother lecturing him about taking his job seriously and following in his father's footsteps, then the man himself putting in to tell Oliver that being CEO was his legacy, to which Oliver flexed his jaw, nodded curtly then excused himself out of the room.

Oliver hated his family's plans for him. They wanted him to be another bastard stuffed in a suit and pretending to know all the answers. They wanted someone who had no problem doing various interviews and playing the impeccable heir to a huge company, and Oliver would have been happy to comply if that appealed to him in the slightest. But it didn't.

That planned life with its inevitable outcomes and suffocating routines was the furthest thing from what he wanted. It was boring and predictable and it put him under unwanted attention, which was another thing he had had enough of. He was as bored and  _done_ with being the billionaire playboy as he was with being Mr. Oliver Queen, future CEO of Queen Consolidated. He had ditched his partying and drinking habits about two years ago when Sara Lance, drunk after leaving one of Oliver's parties, drove off of the rode and into an early grave. When Oliver went to the Lance residence the next day, hung over and flushed with hidden tears, Laurel had slapped him and screamed at him for what felt like hours –something she apologized for months later- and Oliver had gone home and trashed their liquor cabinet.

_It could have been Thea,_ he told himself, and that thought killed the old Oliver.

However, the Oliver that came after that wasn't much better. He was reserved and slow to smile, headstrong and contemplative, exasperated and often quiet. His family was happy that he didn't make the evening news much anymore, but they couldn't understand why his sense of responsibility didn't extend to his work.

With restless energy and ever growing anger with his family's expectations, Oliver left the Queen mansion although he had no destination in mind. He thought about calling Tommy, his lifelong bestfriend and partner in crime, or  _lack of_  recently, but decided against it. Tommy would suggest they go out and have some fun then sigh in resignation when Oliver declined. Oliver thought that he should just find something to get his mind off of his family's endless demands, which should be easy with the amount of money and power he has; he could rent an entire theater for the day if he wanted to or hire a band to throw a mini concert or even wreck some havoc and call it a momentary lapse in judgment. He had too many options and none of them sounded that good, but he could hardly drive around Starling city all day and hope for something to fall out of the sky and present him with the answer.

With a deep sigh and the air of someone brimming with restless energy, Oliver parked his car in the first empty space he found and decided to walk. Enter Felicity Smoak and something falling out of the sky. Well, not particularly in that order.

As Oliver walked the streets of Starling city, the wind picked up a bit and clouds moved across the sky. There were warnings of a storm earlier this week, but no one took those too seriously. What's a little wind after all?

In fact, the wind made Oliver's walk far more enjoyable. He watched as a little girl chased after her bright red balloon, a spot of color darting across the gray sky. He saw a young man struggling with his umbrella –was it going to rain?- and chocked down a laugh when the umbrella opened up suddenly and hit the poor guy on the nose. His laughter died however when a piece of paper came out of nowhere and hit him square in the face, obscuring his vision for a moment as he cursed and tried to remove the offending object.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," A female voice came from somewhere ahead. Oliver was too busy staring at the flyer –pun sadly intended- with raised eyebrows to look up. "I was supposed to put those things up on the shop's door but the wind keeps blowing them off and they keep flying everywhere and they  _are_  supposed to get people's attention but not like that."

" _Smoak books has smoakin' hot new book releases_ ," Oliver read with amusement, still staring at the paper with its bright pink and blue colors, the title bolded and written inside what Oliver assumed was a smoke cloud. The title was cheesy enough to make Oliver's lips twitch, but the little cartoon figure of a blonde girl in the bottom right corner looked somewhat endearing. All in all, he could have been hit by a far worse piece of advertisement. Like something promoting a law firm or a dentist's clinic.

"It's not  _that_ bad," The girl didn't sound offended but friendly, and the sound of a smile in her voice drew Oliver's eyes to her face. The first thing he noticed were her bright blue eyes and how they shined with warm friendliness, her smile bleeding into them and brightening her face. She looked restless even as she stood staring at him; shuffling her feet and fidgeting with a stack of papers –more flyers, he guessed. Her bright red lipstick drew his eyes to her lips and her outfit of equally light colors seemed out of place against the darkening sky, but strangely fitting. Oliver's heart stuttered then sprung to life.

"I mean, sure, it's a bit cheesy," The girl carried on, oblivious to Oliver's musings. "But it's the best I could do on such a short notice, what's with the old design getting deleted and my friend thinking it's a sign we should change it. He's very superstitious when it comes to the bookstore, you'd think it's his bookstore not mine –" Oliver must have given away his ever growing amusement, because the girl –woman, really- stopped abruptly with an embarrassed smile. "I'm babbling."

Oliver let a small smile slip at that, not only because he wanted to comfort the blonde but because he was genuinely amused –and his heart still hadn't reclaimed its usual rhythm. Weird.

"It's not that cheesy," Oliver shrugged. Then offered after a second's hesitation, "And I like the drawing. I'm assuming it's you?"

"Yes!" The girl confirmed, obviously pleased with Oliver's observation skills. "It was Digg's idea! For all his tough guy act, he has a very good eye for designs." She nodded to herself then seemed to cringe at saying too much. "Digg is my friend."

"I guessed as much," Oliver surprised himself by chuckling. This girl was by far the most interesting thing to happen to him all week. "The superstitious one?"

"No, that's another one." And Oliver was surprised when the blonde left it at that but his disappointment only lasted a moment because the next instant the girl offered him her hand. "Felicity Smoak, owner of Smoak books." She nodded to her left where a small bookshop sat between a coffee shop and some sort of boutique.

"Oliver Queen." He returned as they shook hands and Felicity nodded once.

"I know who you are, I watch the news." Felicity smiled then widened her eyes in horror. "That was rude.. I didn't mean that in a bad way. I mean you  _are_ on the news often but it's because your family owns, like, half of the city so it's not your fault. Or a bad thing." The girl retracted her hand from Oliver's to touch her forehead in embarrassment. Oliver could only watch with raised eyebrows. "I'll stop speaking now."

"Well, Felicity Smoak of Smoak books, it's a pleasure meeting you," Oliver offered; only slightly discouraged, now that he knew that the girl knows who he is.

"Likewise," Felicity answered her tone sincere and not at all flirtatious. Which threw him off a bit; women usually twirled their hair and smiled a lot when they spoke to Oliver. It was how he expected them to act around him, he realized, and it made him think that maybe he was more of an arrogant spoiled brat than he thought he was.

"I should go try to put these up again," Felicity motioned to the papers. "We wouldn't be having this problem if I had a glass door to the shop instead of a wooden one. Could have hung them inside instead, like a normal person." She explained and Oliver made a mental note to thank whoever suggested the old-ish bookshop style. "I'll see you around, I guess. Um, not that you have a reason to hang around here or anything but it'd be nice to see you again. Not that I'm hitting on you. I'm not. I mean –I'll just. Go. Now."

The blonde fixed her glasses, gave Oliver a quick embarrassed smile, and then dashed towards her shop without looking back once. Oliver couldn't help but think that she was just like that balloon he saw earlier; a brilliant spot of color in a world of grays, something that draws the eye and paints a smile on people's faces.

He felt considerably lighter after their encounter and the feeling stuck with him even after he went back home.

He also felt the need to buy a book a few days later.

* * *

 

**I have about two more chapters mapped out for this story but I have to know, would you guys be interested in reading them?**

**Comments and Kudos would be most appreciated. Tell me what you think! Or come say hi on[tumblr](http://thelineswritteninwater.tumblr.com/).**

**Thanks for reading, stay awesome.**


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